the dreamer's den [o]

In the short time since Mothpaw's medicine cat apprentice ceremony, the medicine den had undergone something of a transformation. It was messy and chaotic, with no real semblance of organization outside of the small space occupied by Mothpaw's nest and those set aside for her patients; the herbs were a mess and often mixed together since she was just starting to learn how to tell them apart. In short, she was young and inexperienced, and it showed as much in her den as her personality; a nearly fully-trained warrior who had changed her path at the last second. But she certainly seemed happy with this turn of events, despite often casting longing looks to the apprentice's den where her sister still slept; she'd found she liked healing, when she understood what it was she was doing.

For now, though, no one had come to her for assistance; and so she was passing time by sorting the one thing she did make an effort to keep well-organized. The small pile of bugs that marked the corner where she'd made her nest, far smaller than it had been before the flood. It was mostly moths, and not very many, but there were a few other things mixed in as well. She'd specifically placed it - and, because of that, her nest - as far from the herbs as she could, but she couldn't give up her collection altogether. It was hard enough to start over in more ways than one; she couldn't also give up the things she did for fun. So, when she was out in the territory, she'd still hunt for bugs and chase after fireflies and frogs, the same as she always had.

Tap, tap.

Uneven winds touched the sleeping world. Dust stirred, but this movement went unnoticed by the living. Within the warrior's den, cats cuddled for warmth to prevent the colder wind from disturbing their deep doze. Birds chirped joyfully, the sound quiet and melodical at first, but it soon turned into an unwanted and constant nuisance to the ears. Hunting the chattering birds seemed an important and necessary task to the waking world, but only when dawn came would the sleeping need concern themselves.

A single blackened claw tapped the hardened ground. Not that the sound would disturb the sprawled warriors surrounding him. Sleep evaded Wolftuft, as it did most nights. He spent many long nights staring at the bleak wall above, casting away the nightmares that haunted him. A shiver whipped through him as his mind fought back the sleep he so desperately desired, but the call for silence merely echoed in the confines of his head. As the stray rays of sunlight began to peak through the den walls, the silver tabby rose to his paws. A sharp pain tore through his paw-pad. Instinctively, he raised the paw to examine it further. He had torn his pad yesterday, but it seemed that a short rest did nothing to ease the pain. The angry red cut glared up at him, and for a few heartbeats, Wolftuft could do nothing but stare back. But this was a staring contest he could never win. With a sigh, he limped out of the warrior's den.

The sunlight was bright compared to the relative darkness of the den, but it was easily ignored by a simple squint that Wolftuft adopted. The tom saw a few cats staggering around, drowsy figures that were most likely deprived of sleep. Green eyes followed the warriors for a moment, but they soon landed on the medicine cat's den. It wasn't that Wolftuft hated medicine cat's themselves. Cats were cats, and their position wasn't necessarily associated with their personality. Rather, it was the fact that medicine cats stood for everything he placed himself against.

Wolftuft flinched as he neared the entrance. The walls themselves seemed infused with moons of lies and false prophecies. But the throb in his paw-pad excelled him forward until he was poking his head into the tangy-scented den. "Mothpaw? Oh." the tom's expression quirked in surprise as the chaos of the den met his eyes. He pushed his resentment to the pit of his stomach, leaving it to simmer as his eyes met the medicine cat apprentice. Though his paw stung, he only looked at Mothpaw and opened his maw.

"Do you need some help with those leaves and stuff, Mothpaw?"

"Oh! Um... No? At least, I don't think so," she said, looking to the leaves and then back at her Clanmate. "Is there something I can do for you, Wolftuft?" she asked pleasantly, tilting her head slightly. "But, um, it's fine if there's not! I was just making sure these don't get too close to the herbs," she gestured to the pile of bugs with her tail, in the process un-sorting the herbs she'd managed to differentiate. "Oh no... Separating those the first time took forever!"

Sunlight pooled across the floor of the medicine cat den, dapples of sun shifting and lighting up different sections of the floor. Wolftuft, still awaiting Mothpaw's response, was easily distracted by the fluctuating speckles of light. The way and the ease at which the light redirected was calming to the tom, and, in some strange way, soothed the angry throbbing of his paw-pad.

The she-cat soon answered his inquiry. She seemed incredibly unsure of herself, a trait that Wolftuft couldn't understand. Why speak, why waste the breath to respond with unnecessary words, when she could've easily said either yes or no. He didn't comment on his inner thoughts, as he knew it would only cause the medicine cat apprentice more confusion. It wasn't worth it.

Mothpaw turned the spotlight back onto Wolftuft with a question of her own. He tried to even out his own weight, as to better disguise the injury in his right foot. Truthfully, the she-cat most likely had more than enough on her paws. She did not need the hassle of a small cut. Selflessness, as his mother had always reminded him, was the best trait one could possess. By helping her sort these leaves - these herbs - he would be helping more than Mothpaw, but the whole clan. His tail swayed behind him as he contemplated his answer. "No, I'm fine." he shrugged at her.

At the she-cat's misfortune, Wolftuft's eyes turned to the newly made mess of herbs with a glint of humor. "Looks like you could use some help, afterall, four paws are much faster then two. Maybe I could even learn a thing or two in the process." he paced forward, ignoring the stab in his paw as it touched the ground. The smell was overwhelming strong and minty as he came closer.